Chapter 27

1 The rich supply of Tyrus. 26 The great and unrecoverable fall thereof.

1. The word of the Lord. The new section carries on the prophecy against Tyre.

2. Lamentation for Tyrus. A poem in the qinah rhythm, the rhythm of the dirge (see Vol. III, p. 19), begins with v. 3. The lament pictures Tyre under the figure of a gallant ship, fully manned and equipped, sailing everywhere, conducting a prosperous trade, but at last brought into rough seas and shipwrecked. Occasionally the reality breaks through the figure, a characteristic of Ezekiel’s style.

Perhaps the reason why so much space is given to Tyre is that her pride, her ambition, her organization, her conduct, so closely parallel that of the great rebel leader, Satan. In ch. 28:11–19, under the figure of the prince of Tyre, the prophet takes up a lamentation for Satan himself. Later, John the revelator borrows the language of Ezekiel’s prophecy against Tyre to utter his lament at the collapse of Satan’s universal counterfeit religious organization (Rev. 18).

3. Entry. Literally, “entrances,” probably here referring to Tyre’s two chief harbors, the “Egyptian,” on the south of the island, and the “Sidonian,” on the north.

4. Thy borders. Surrounded by water, as insular Tyre was, the city suggests the figure of a ship at sea.

5. Ship boards. The planking for the sides of the ship.

Senir. The Amorite, Ugaritic, and Akkadian name for Mt. Hermon (see Deut. 3:9).

Cedars from Lebanon. Doubtless valuable because of their height, strength, durability.

6. Bashan. A fertile plateau region east of the Sea of Galilee (see on Joshua 12:4), famous for its oak forests and its cattle (see Ps. 22:12).

Company of the Ashurites. Literally, “daughter of the Ashurites,” the meaning of which in the context is obscure. If the two Hebrew words that are translated by the above phrase are joined together, the reading is “in cypress,” or “with cypress,” or “of pines” (RSV).

Benches. Heb. qeresh, generally meaning “board” (Ex. 26:15; etc.), here thought possibly to refer to the prow of the vessel. The RSV translates qeresh, “deck.”

Chittim. Specifically Cyprus, but more generally the islands and coastlands of the Mediterranean (see on Dan. 11:30).

7. Isles of Elishah. Or, “coasts of Elishah” (RSV; see on ch. 26:15). Elishah is mentioned as one of the sons of Javan (Gen. 10:4; 1 Chron. 1:7). Some have identified the isles of Elishah with Cyprus, others with Sicily and Sardinia.

That which covered. Probably the awning spread over the deck for protection from the burning sun.

8. Thy mariners. The ship’s crew is now described. The two cities mentioned as the source of these mariners were tributary to Tyre. Sidon was 231/3 mi. (37.3 km.) north-northeast from Tyre on the Phoenician coast. Arvad, the Greek Aradus, was a rocky island near the coast about 100 mi. (161 km.) north of Sidon.

O Tyrus. The RSV reading “of Zemer” is based upon a slight alteration of the Hebrew text, and that upon the context and upon a comparison with Gen. 10:18. Zemer was a Phoenician city south of Arvad. Gebal is the ancient Byblos, the modern Jebeil, 411/2 mi. (66.4 km.) north-northeast of Sidon, situated on an eminence near the Adonis River. Its site is still rich in Phoenician ruins.

10. Of Persia. Tyre was largely dependent upon mercenaries for the rank and file of its army.

Lud. The Lydians (see on Gen. 10:13).

Phut. Believed by many Egyptologists to be the same as the Egyptian Punt, a territory in Africa bordering the Red Sea. Assyriologists, however, generally identify Phut with a division of Libya.

11. The Gammadims. This name occurs only here. The Gammadims were probably the inhabitants of Kumidi, a Phoenician city mentioned in the Amarna Letters. Gamad was probably a north Syrian Phoenician state.

Hanged their shields. Compare S. of Sol. 4:4.

12. Tarshish. Believed to be the Greek Tartessus, a Phoenician colony on the south coast of Spain.

Fairs. Heb. Фizbonim, “wares,” “goods,” “stores of merchandise.”

13. Javan. See on Gen. 10:2.

Tubal. The classic Tibarenians, the Tabalaeans mentioned in Assyrian curneiform documents (see on Gen. 10:2).

Meschech. The classic Moshians (Moschoi), the Mushku of Assyrian inscriptions (see on Gen. 10:2).

Togarmah. A name for the northern Armenians, a race descended from Japheth (see on Gen. 10:3), who called themselves the house of Torgom. They dealt in horses and asses, they inhabited the rough mountainous regions on the south side of the Caucasus.

15. Men of Dedan. An Arab tribe south of Edom (see on Gen. 10:7; Eze. 25:13).

16. Syria. A number of Hebrew manuscripts, the version of Aquila, and the Syriac read “Edom” (see on ch. 16:57). Syria is referred to later under the name of “Damascus” (ch. 27:18).

Emeralds. Heb. nophek, possibly the turquoise. It is difficult to identify positively many of the precious stones mentioned in the Scriptures. Through the development of chemistry, especially the branch of crystallography, it has become possible to identify some ancient precious stones by analyzing specimens found in archeological discoveries. The ancients classified a number of different stones of the same color under one name, even though of different chemical composition.

Agate. Heb. kadkod, possibly the ruby, or the red jasper.

17. Minnith. An Ammonite city thought to have been near Heshbon (Judges 11:33).

Pannag. A word found only here. If it is a proper name, its significance has been lost. The Targums and LXX read “ointments”; the Vulgate, “balsam.” A similar Akkadian word, pannigu, describes a dish of flour or pastry. By a change of the Hebrew (paggag instead of pannag) the RSV reads “early figs.”

18. Damascus. The former capital of an important Syrian kingdom.

Wine of Helbon. This wine is mentioned in Nebuchadnezzar’s inscriptions. The modernHalbuЖn is about 13 mi. (20.8 km.) north by west from Damascus. Grapes are still cultivated in the vicinity.

19. Dan. There seems to be no satisfactory explanation for the mention of this small, unimportant town. The name does not appear in the LXX and on this basis is omitted in the RSV.

Javan. Heb. yawan, which should probably read yayin, “wine” (see LXX; RSV).

Going to and fro. Heb. meХuzzal, which, with a change in vowel pointing, may be translated “from Uzal,” an unidentified place in Arabia (see Gen. 10:27).

Cassia, and calamus. Both of these were ingredients of the holy anointing oil for the priests (Ex. 30:23, 24).

20. Precious clothes. Believed to mean saddlecloths.

21. Arabia. Here used in the limited sense given to it elsewhere in the Scriptures (2 Chron. 9:14; Isa. 21:13; Jer. 25:24), namely, the northern desert portion of the country occupied by nomadic tribes.

Kedar. The name of one of the nomadic tribes descended from Ishmael (Gen. 25:13; cf. Isa. 60:7).

22. Sheba. Descendants of Cush, the son of Ham (see Gen. 10:7). Their territory was in southwestern Arabia and included Yemen. It was the land of the queen of Sheba, who visited Solomon, and it was noted even then for its spices and gold (1 Kings 10:1, 2, 10; Ps. 72:10, 15; Isa. 60:6; Jer. 6:20; see on Gen. 10:7).

Raamah. Believed to be a southern Arabian tribe (see on Gen. 10:7).

23. Haran. The prophet turns from Arabia to Mesopotamia. Haran, where Abraham lived for a time (Gen. 12:4), was in northwestern Mesopotamia on the Balikh River at the crossroads of two great caravan routes.

Canneh. Site unknown, but probably near Haran.

Eden. A district along the Euphrates south of Haran (see 2 Kings 19:12; Isa. 37:12).

Sheba. This is the same Sheba as mentioned earlier (v. 22). The name is probably out of its order here. It does not appear in the LXX.

Asshur. The common name for Assyria, but the fact that it is listed here with other cities has led some scholars to identify it with the modern QalФaЖt SherqaЖt on the west bank of the Tigris, about 50 mi. south of Nineveh.

Chilmad. An unknown site, probably located not far from the city of Asshur.

24. All sorts of things. Heb. maklulim, literally, “perfected things,” perhaps denoting “gorgeous garments.”

Made of cedar. Better, “made secure” (RSV).

25. Ships of Tarshish. For this term, probably designating ships engaged in carrying metals—as from Tarshish, probably in Spain—see on 1 Kings 10:22.

26. Thy rowers. The figure of the ship is here resumed. The vessel is on the high seas, buffeted by the east wind, a treacherous, dangerous wind (see Ps. 48:7). The stately ship is broken by the fierceness of the gale.

27. Thy mariners. The various classes of seamen are enumerated. Together all that made up the might, glory, and wealth of Tyre perished in one great disaster. All were cast into the midst of the sea at the breakup of this mighty ship of state.

28. Suburbs. The word thus translated usually means the open place around a city (see on Joshua 14:4). Here the general surroundings are indicated.

29. All that handle. The merchant world mourns the loss of the gallant ship with all the customary acts of mourning and composes a funeral hymn (vs. 32–36).